Four days after the postponed 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games wrapped up, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the government of The Bahamas will kick-off its celebration of those athletes that represented The Bahamas in Tokyo, Japan. First up will be the welcoming home of gold medalists Steven “Speedy” Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo at Lynden Pindling International Airport tomorrow.
Guardian Sports caught up with Director of Sports Timothy Munnings on the itinerary for tomorrow’s celebration for the medalists.
“When they arrive, we will greet them at the airport and have a press conference at the airport. Following that, we are going to leave the airport and they are going to have courtesy calls with the governor general and the prime minister separately,” Munnings said.
That flight is expected to be in by noon. Gardiner and Miller-Uibo won the gold medal in the men’s and women’s 400 meters (m) races, respectively.
Munnings said they were hoping to have a motorcade but that will be postponed to a later date.
“We had to postpone the motorcade. There were a couple of reasons for that, such as the weather that is coming. We would also like to have more of the athletes available so we can have more participation from the team,” Munnings stated
The ministry is still trying to get confirmation as to where everyone will be, because some went back to college and others are continuing competition.
The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Iram Lewis appeared on Guardian Radio’s “Morning Blend” with host Dwight Strachan on Monday, and spoke about how proud he was of the entire team.
“We needed something to cheer about,” Lewis said. “We needed something to lift our spirits. The performance of our entire team, especially Steven and Shaunae, certainly lifted the spirits of the nation. We all have something to talk about now. It was extremely exciting just to watch those athletes in the zone, they were not rattled by their competitors. They had their game plan down pat, ran their races and at the end of the day, The Bahamas – in my opinion and the opinions of all Bahamians – won the Olympic Games.
“Not to overshadow the other athletes, we had Devynne Charlton making the final in the 100m hurdles. Pedrya Seymour advancing to the semi-final in that same event. Anthonique Strachan running her fastest time in five years in the 200m. Donald Thomas high jumping at the highest level at age 37. The entire team did a tremendous job and the entire nation is inspired by their performance.”
Gardiner secured the first gold medal for Team Bahamas at the games when he crossed the finish line first in a blazing 43.85 seconds – his second-fastest time ever. He also became the first individual male gold medalist for The Bahamas at the Olympics.
With that win, the 25-year-old is also just the second Bahamian to win back-to-back World and Olympic titles in athletics, joining Tonique Williams who accomplished that feat in 2004 and 2005. He won the gold at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar in 2019.
Miller-Uibo broke her national and area record with a time of 48.36 seconds, to put away any doubt that she is the best female quarter-miler in the world in convincing fashion. She successfully defended her Olympic title as she becomes the only woman to repeat as Olympic champion in the women’s 400m since Marie-José Pérec, of France, in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996. Miller-Uibo also joined Pérec as the only woman in history to win multiple Olympic titles in the women’s 400m.
Miller-Uibo’s gold-winning performance on Friday night was also historic as it meant that The Bahamas won two individual gold medals for the first time in history.
The Bahamas finished tied for 42nd in the medal standings with Kosovo. Per capita, The Bahamas finished second to Bermuda, who won one gold medal.
More events for the celebration will be announced later. There were 16 athletes who represented The Bahamas in Tokyo, Japan.
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/celebration-for-olympians-kicks-off-on-thursday/
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